Grandparents!

We are all so excited to have Grammy and Grumpy Shepherd here for two weeks! Ben was so wound up when they arrived on Thursday that he wore himself out well before dinner. He hadn't had so much attention in weeks and he was thrilled. Baby Alex has had no shortage of welcoming arms to sleep in but hasn't seemed to notice anything different otherwise. It's wonderful to have so much time to spend together with my parents and watch them enjoy their grandsons.

Here are some pictures from the past week. I'm hoping that I'll finally get myself organized now that Ben has other sources of entertainment and I'll be a little better about posting!

Alex is growing like crazy. He was 8lbs 12oz last Tuesday, so he really has put on 2lbs since he was born. Unfortunately, we were at the doctor to check out a weird bump on the back of his neck and it turned out to be some kind of infection. He's been on two different antibiotics all week (7 doses a day, all around the clock) and we've seen a lot of improvement, but he still had to suffer through having the infection cut open and cleaned yesterday. Poor baby! He was not happy about that at all.

Both of our boys! This is still about as interested as Ben gets, although he was handing out free high fives to everyone yesterday and he even included Alex so maybe they're becoming friends.

Ben's old froggy pacifier is becoming a permanent fixture on Alex's face. I like it because Alex can hold on to it and I'm not constantly popping the pacifier back into his mouth.

We got a package full of goodies from Grandma and Grandpa Kirkham and Ben was so excited to try on some new clothes and decorate himself with stickers. We heard "more stickies" all afternoon!

And finally....the grandparents arrived! Their flight got in here at 5:30am after 24 hours of travel, so needless to say they were pretty exhausted. They have both done great with the jetlag so far, though, so I'm really impressed. It might have helped that there was a new little guy they were looking forward to meeting!


Ben loves having someone new to play with on the playground and at the pool. He and "Gumpy" have had all kinds of fun together.

Since Ben has been helping himself to a lot of Alex's new toys, Alex got to return the favor and claim Ben's new little Elmo for a chew toy. Or maybe he was just trying to let me know he was hungry!

Time Flies

I can't really say it's been a busy week because we haven't done much, but the days have sure gone by quickly. Alex has still been doing a lot of this (yay!!):

He's been such a good baby so far because he only cries when he's really hungry and usually when he's awake he's content to watch the world around him. I'm sure Ben is plenty of entertainment! The big brother has been very helpful this weekend, handing me diapers and wipes and making sure that Alex had his pacifier whether he needed it or not. I had to laugh when I walked by sleeping Alex and saw that Ben had put the froggy pacifier right by his mouth!

I've gotta say how much I love this combi stroller. I bought it when we moved to Singapore because the big Graco strollers that are so popular in Texas are completely impractical here with taxis and stairs everywhere. This one is lightweight and smaller, but even better because it lays back as a bassinet. A little flap covers the leg holes so Alex can't slip out and suddenly I have a portable bed for the him. He's actually still sleeping in it at night because he doesn't seem to like all the open space of the pack and play so in the morning I can just wheel him around with me until he's awake.

Ben's having more and more bad hair days...I think the time for his first haircut is fast approaching! Probably just a trim, since there still isn't a lot of hair there.

He's talking much more these days and we're understanding a lot more as well. We got to swap out our car for a minivan this weekend (and I never thought I'd be excited to get a minivan but we love it!) and Ben keeps talking about the "new car". He also copies Daddy in the car and holds his hand on the handle above the window, even though he can barely reach it. Never a dull moment with him!

One Old Mama

My twenties officially ended this week and I have to say that so far 30 feels really old! Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I haven't been getting much sleep lately and I've never been one to skimp on my sleep. Since I've never had a true newborn at home, I feel like a first time mom trying to figure out when he needs to eat and sleep (and hopefully start sleeping longer at night...this all-night diner won't stay open forever!) while at the same time trying to give Ben plenty of attention. At least I know Alex is eating plenty because I had him weighed today and he was a hefty 8lbs 5oz! I'm not sure I believe he's gained a pound and a half in two weeks but he's definitely a healthy, growing boy. Yesterday was his true due date so I think he would have been a pretty big baby had he gone full-term.

Here's a tired looking mom and my two precious boys:


Ben has been back to his old self lately and lots of fun. He's having a great time getting reacquainted with his old toys, whether he actually remembers them or not. I guess he did remember this one because he went and laid under it first thing to look at the animals.


And here's little Alex at 3 weeks old:
If I can remember to keep up, I'm going to try and get pictures of him in the chair every month to see how much he grows. I wish I would have thought to do that with Ben before it was too late!

Grammy and Grumpy Shepherd will be here a week from today to spend a few weeks with us and we're so excited! Ben is going to go wild with such a big audience and so much attention. While it has been a great experience for us to have a baby abroad, we sure have missed our families! It's just not the same showing all the grandparents their new grandson over a webcam.

Our Little Fish

Ben is quite the swimmer these days and has no fear! He'll jump in the pool by himself already...

He absolutely loves swimming with Daddy and I can't wait to get back in the pool myself. Only 3 more weeks then I should get the all-clear from the doctor to start living like a normal person again.


Afterwards Ben has to warm up again because the pool is so cold but it doesn't take long in the tropical sun.

We went to the hawker stand for dinner, one of my favorite places to eat. They're just outdoor food courts full of stalls selling all kinds of local food and most of it is really cheap (a good meal might run $5). I used to take Ben about once a week to his favorite stall for some beef and noodles but he hadn't been in a while, so when the noodles came out he said "Yay!!" like he'd been deprived for a long time. He loves the hawker stand because he can run around and talk to all the people and watch all the activity.

And little Alex is just along for the ride wherever we go! He's beginning to like his swing at home these days but he's been great every time we take him out to eat with us.

Growing Right Along

Little Alex is becoming more and more alert every day. Such a cutie! I'm still amazed at how small he is compared to Ben but I can already tell he's growing so part of me is sad that this baby stage will be over before I know it. It seems like Ben was this age just yesterday. I know it gets better and better as they grow but there is something so special about having a little baby to cuddle, even at 3am when he won't let you go back to sleep!
Ben is still not a big fan of the intruder in the house, but he's at least friendlier these days. He's pretty generous with the kisses for little brother, but he's also quick to steal a pacifier or blanket if it catches his eye.

Here is how Ben really feels...this is a song of his own creation that I've heard several times over the past few days.

Ben is a huge fan of talking on the phone right now. He gets so many important calls that sometimes i have to pry my phone away when I want to make a call, or even worse, when I'm trying to answer the phone before he does!

Busy Days

I had no idea how fast the days can go when you're busy with two kids! And one is just eating, sleeping, and going through lots of diapers right now. Alex did have a busy week with several visitors and his first trip to the pediatrician who was also his neonatologist in the NICU. He got a great checkup and was back up to 3kg (about 6lbs 10oz) so he's regained his birthweight, which means he's eating well and growing. He also got his first vaccinations and cried his little eyes out, so he may not be as tough as his older brother who doesn't even flinch! We also took Alex to the US Embassy here to register our new citizen and get his passport. And good luck to anyone who needs to take passport photos of a newborn! He has to be awake, eyes open, looking at the camera, mouth closed, not crying, and no adult hands in the picture. Quite a challenge! Several people have asked if he'll be a dual citizen, but Singapore doesn't offer that option. He does have a Singaporean birth certificate now so that will be something fun for the baby book.

Ben is finally acting a little more normal and today we had our happy little guy back. I've really missed that smile and my funny boy! He's still not crazy about Alex but doesn't seem to hate him anymore, so we're making progress. It's good to see Ben back to his old habits, like raiding our closet.
He's been learning a lot of letters these days...maybe this is helping?

He's also found my makeup bag again and decided to try wearing eyeshadow one more time...


We made our first family outing yesterday to Ben's friend's birthday party and Ben had a great time playing. It was nice to get out of the house and enjoy some adult company but we only stayed an hour just in case little Alex woke up early.


Just a few other pictures from the past week. I thought this was really cute...looks like our boys like to relax in the same position!

Mama and baby Alex

This baby chair is also a toddler rocker, but Ben showed no interest in it until Alex started sleeping in it. Now where does he want to kick back?

Sweet little guy is just full of smiles when he's falling asleep!

Ben's imagination is really taking off these days. He was feeding Daddy from his new cup this afternoon. It's so much fun to see his creativity developing.

Brothers

Ben is slowly acknowledging the presence of his little brother, but I think this is going to be a long process! He seems to think that ignoring the problem will make it disappear, but in this case that's not going to work. Sometimes he even ignores me if I have Alex in my arms.

It's really different having a true newborn at home compared to Ben when we first brought him home because Alex pretty much just eats and sleeps. Ben was already staying awake for several hours at a time when he came home and he had been on a strict eating schedule for so long that he rarely got hungry at different hours. I'm still trying to figure out what kind of eating schedule Alex is on because it's changing every day. Today has been every 2-3 hours so I'm hoping he'll go longer tonight or else I'll never get any sleep! So far he doesn't cry much unless he's really hungry and impatient while I'm changing his diaper. And in the bath. That doesn't seem to be a favorite activity just yet and the little guy pooped in it first thing last night just to show his disapproval.

Yesterday we made our first outing to the playground and Alex just slept away in the stroller.

Ben was having fun pushing his shopping cart around....

....until he noticed that someone new was in his stroller. Ben made a big deal about buckling the belt while completely ignoring Alex.

This was as close as Ben would get today. He was getting ready to go to the pool so I laid Alex next to him to see if he'd react.

Ben checked him out a little but wouldn't say hi or touch the baby. Now that we have such a little person at home, I'm just amazed at how big Ben has grown. His hands and feet just seem huge to me now and I realize how much he's turned into a little boy instead of a baby. It's happened so fast!